The Republicans like Kirkpatrick because of she doesn’t have that “aura of royality” of past speakers who were gubernatorial or congressional candidates-in-waiting. Kirkpatrick also brings a work ethic that has earned her respect.

“It you want to talk to Marilyn, you can always find her out back, smoking, right?” said Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks. “And then you can sit there and visit with her for a few minutes and talk things over. And as you know, she is probably the hardest working person in the building. The lady never goes home. I’ve been here at 10 ‘o’clock and there’s Marilyn, working away.”

To hear Assembly Minority Leader Pat Hickey, R-Reno, tell it, Marilyn Kirkpatrick should get a book deal about her life.

“Our new speaker, the second woman in Nevada to be so, has an inspiring story of character and grit,” Hickey said in a speech from the Assembly floor Monday. “Having emancipated herself from a difficult personal situation, she worked her way through high school waitressing tables at nights at a local restaurant, and sleeping during the day on the couch of her high school counselor.”

Hickey also said in his floor speech: “It is somewhat ironic that this same individual would go from waiting tables on some of Nevada's most influential politicians, to having many of those same powerful individuals now ‘waiting’ to speak with her outside her new office just down the hall.”

THAT COLLECTIVE groan you hear is the reaction that “embattled” Assemblyman Steve Brooks, D-North Las Vegas, isn’t going to take a leave of absence after all, as reported by Laura Myers of the Las Vegas Review Journal. The news Tuesday came after Kirkpatrick said Monday she had reached a deal with Brooks for him to be sworn in and then take a leave of absence for an unspecified length.

Kirkpatrick said Monday that while Brooks was taking a leave, she would continue to select a committee to look into Brooks’ recent behavior, which includes getting arrested two week ago for threatening Kirkpatrick. He had a loaded gun and ammo in his vehicle when arrested.

Kirkpatrick said he would appoint the committee to investigate Brooks’ behavior Thursday. She said that the committee probably would not ever meet. Could that change now that Brooks apparently doesn’t agree with the deal?

I spoke briefly with Books Tuesday, he was leaving his office in casual dress, jeans and no tie. He was polite but declined to say if he was staying or taking the leave.

“Great picture you did this morning of me,” Brooks said, referencing the Reno Gazette-Journal. “I’m not doing anything with journalists right now. You guys don’t know when to leave me alone, but nice to meet you.”

If Brooks decides to take a leave of absence – he has a recent tendency to change his mind – he could get his legislative per-diem pay of $152 a day while on leave, said Rick Combs, director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau.

“It depends on the terms of the leave of absence he had been granted but I don’t think that has actually been formalized at this point," Combs said. "He could get paid.”

ASSEMBLYMAN David Bobzien, D-Reno, is one legislators who is concerned about the sage grouse issue in Nevada. He joined others in expressing concern that Gov. Brian Sandoval’s recent termination of Nevada Wildlife Director Ken Mayer is a bad omen for efforts to keep the sage grouse off the endangered species list.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is set to determine by September 2015 whether the sage grouse should be listed as threatened or endangered in Nevada and 10 other western states. A listing could cripple Nevada’s economy, potentially damaging agriculture, mining, recreation and renewable energy development.

“Particularly because Ken Mayer is a member of the science community, has a role on national review panels for sage grouse and is very connected across the county on the sage grouse question, I am concerned that it potentially sends a signal to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife about our commitment to science-based conservation for sage grouse.”

HANSEN said he wants Assemblyman Andrew Martin, D-Las Vegas, to be expelled from the Legislature because a district court judge ruled that he did not live in the district (9) he represents.

Martin, however, brings an expertise into the Legislature that could prove valuable to the body of 63.

He is a former member of the Economic Forum, the committee of Nevada government that looks into the future to figure out how much tax revenue the state will make in the upcoming months. All budget projections and votes are based on what the Economic Forum says.

“The Economic Forum … is responsible for accurately projecting the revenues that we will have for our state budget,” Martin said. “So understanding what generates our tax revenues and what effects these calculations will have is tremendous background to bring in there. But everybody here… the thing that is overwhelming to me as a citizen legislator, these people have tremendous backgrounds to bring into the lawmaking process. And everyone contributes what their experiences are.”

About this blog

Ray Hagar is the political reporter for the Reno Gazette-Journal and a fifth-generation Nevadan. Hagar is also a co-host for the Nevada Newsmakers statewide television program. He is the co-author of "Johnson-Jeffries: Dateline Reno," a book about the 1910 "Fight of the Century" in Reno that pitted black world champion Jack Johnson against the "Great White Hope," Jim Jeffries